The picture Ed Balls may want to forget: Shadow Chancellor under fresh scrutiny as snap emerges of him opening Barclays bank

Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls' links with Barclays were under fresh scrutiny last night after a picture emerged of him opening one of the bank's flagship branches.

Mr Balls praised the bank for ‘changing the face of banking’ at the ceremony in Leeds City Centre in 2009.

Tory MPs have accused Mr Balls of failing to regulate banks effectively at the time of the Barclays rate rigging scandal.

Close links: Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls (centre) cuts the ribbon at the opening of a Barclays branch in Leeds City centre in 2009, leading to fresh questions about his relationship with the under-fire bank

The Shadow Chancellor was the Treasury minister responsible for regulating the banks when the rate fixing by Barclays took place.

Mr Balls is also a former economic adviser to the former chancellor Gordon Brown who developed Labour’s policies over more than a decade.

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The picture of Mr Balls opening the Barclay’s branch appears on his own website under the headline ‘Barclays changes the face of banking with ground breaking new branch.’

Chancellor George Osborne said that he would like to see Mr Balls in the ‘dock’ over the scandal as was City minister when the interest rate-fixing went on.

On the attack: Chancellor George Osborne (left) said he would like to see Mr Balls 'in the dock' over the banking scandal, while Tory MP Jesse Norman (right) said the former City minister was a 'critical figure' in the crisis

Mr Osborne said: ‘No-one more than me would like to see [shadow chancellor] Ed Balls in the dock.’

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that former minister should be ‘afraid’ of a banking inquiry. Mr Osborne added: ‘Over the next few months, instead of waiting for a decade after the scandal itself to get some answers.’

Tory MP Jesse Norman yesterday added that Mr Balls was a ‘critical figure’ in the scandal.

Government sources have suggested that Mr Balls needs to answer questions on whether he spoke to the Bank of England or to Barclays.

A spokesman for Mr Balls has pointed out that he was Children’s Secretary in 2008 when ‘senior Whitehall figures’ were allegedly involved.